NB this is intended as help for individuals who are just starting out bowl turning - if you would like to use it anywhere else for any other purpose please ask my permission first!

Before you start think about how to stand so you can maximise your power:* stand close to the lathe bed and keep your stance upright so your whole bodyweight pushes down on the treadle* make sure you can push the treadle from its highest point to its lowest point on every stroke

Now to look at the three basic ways you can adjust the tool angle and the effect each has; twisting, side-to-side, up-and-down:

Twisting* the more upright the hook is, the finer the cut* if the tool keeps digging in, twist it anticlockwise so it cuts less aggressively

Side-to-side* the tool cuts at 90° to the handle so you need to adjust the side-to-side angle as you cut from base to rim* if the surface of your bowl is a series of steps concentrate on keeping the top of the hook in contact with the surface you have just cut

Up-and-down* the tool should remain roughly horizontal for most of the outside of the bowl - you can hold the handle either under or over your arm depending which is firmer and more comfortable* at the rim you will need to raise the tool handle, putting it on top of your arm

Once you have practiced this on the outside of a bowl where it is easier and you feel you have a basic grasp of the movements, you should be able to transfer the principles to getting the tool to cut inside.

If you watch video of Robin turning here you'll see that he does other things too, like sometimes flipping the tool over so the hook points downwards. This is not a different technique it is just greater mastery of the tools. The reasons he does such things are often stunningly simple, like he's just looking for a sharper bit of the hook for a finer cut or he's adjusting the angle so shavings don't spray in his face or my camera.

New video here: In the first, distant shot notice how the tool handle starts almost pointing towards the camera as Robin cuts by the base then swings around to being side-on to the camera. In the second, close-up shot see how the tool takes an even layer off the surface of the bowl like peeling an onion. (You can watch this video in high quality by clicking on the link at the bottom right hand corner of it on youTube.)

Next time you're turning have a think about this and let me know if it helps!Nicola

I was wondering if anyone has had a chance to have a go with this and if you found it useful? ... and if you had anything else to add? Rather than this being a static 'this is how you do it' I'd far rather it was a discussion about how other people do it and what they find helps them ...

I will let you know more in the next few days its my last half day at work today until the weekend and then im off until the 3rd of January (this will be the first tme i have not done the new years day walk at work in the last 16years (im sure i will end up there). Im not sure how im going to get on using the pole lathe set up for bowls but i will give it a go. Any tips on how i might set up the lathe or should i just use it as normal i guess i need to adjust the tools rest some how. Im looking forward to xmas this year as the children are so excited we are off to see santa this evening at Bluewater after Isobels Wriggly Nativity play at school.

I think you have made an excellent start on a book! The cartoon figures are wonderful -- they have just enough detail to be understood. In photographs, one is distracted by the clutter that the camera mercilessly reports. Now, if you would only provide a cartoon (and I do NOT mean this derogatorily!) sketch of the bowl truner's lathe -- I have looked at many photographs and I'm still not sure of how the tool rests go. Or how they are held down. I have made two pole lathes and used powered lathes before, including metal-cutting lathes, but a bowl lathe is a horse of a different hue. It would be very helpful if you showed the "turner's view" of the contraption; most photos show the lathe from the spectator's viewpoint (naturally enough). Thanks for the the information.

Nicola Wood wrote:Interesting one that! Next time I'm up at the workshop I'll stand behind the lathe and see if I can think how to draw it. It's backed right up against the wall so I don't often see it from that angle.

I don't need, or indeed want, a set of dimensioned drawings! Most unbodger-like. What would be nice is what Engineers call a "General Arrangement" drawing. Either side and top views or an isometric (sort of) drawing. I'm having trouble seeing how the toolrests go; it is not at all like a conventional spindle lathe. The cartoon sketches are wonderful, as I said before; so anything you do will be much appreciated.

The right hand end sits on a little ledge, it has a hole drilled through and a 5" nail down into the poppit so that it pivots nice and smoothly.

The left hand end just sits on the tool rest suport, I used to stree about how to fix it there, some old lathes have notches all down that support so it locks in different positions. When I started I drilled holes ever couple of inches down the rest and popped a nail through one into the support. Now I rarely bother. Lailey had nothing to stop this end sliding. If your technique is correct all the force from tool to rest is directly downwards so it shouldn't slide but when beginning fixing it will help.

Last edited by Nicola Wood on Sun Mar 01, 2009 2:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason:link to other thread

Nicola, I just wanted to let you know that your guide images were very, very helpful to me - a distant, newby turner who doesn't have direct access to a mentor.

I am know trying to turn the inside of a bowl and am having trouble getting the tool position right. Any chance of you drawing some cartoons that show this aspect of the bowl-making process? I would also like to understand how the top edge of the bowl is turned.

A lot to ask I know - but you know what they say - if you don't ask...